


keep on saying it's alright

by Nyxierose



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Ficlet Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-02-22 06:09:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13160892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyxierose/pseuds/Nyxierose
Summary: Unrelated prompt fills and other short ficlets, Damerey style.





	1. warn me first

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted from my tumblr [@electricbluebutterflies](http://electricbluebutterflies.tumblr.com). Compilation title from "Wild Horses" by Bishop Briggs.

He’s got this under control. Famous last words.

Poe is well aware that he gets away with as much as he does because his crazy plans have a strange habit of working out. Usually. This time, as with most of them, there are odds that would make a lesser person rethink the situation; this time, unlike most of them, he’s starting to approach that point of what-the-hell-am-I-doing. Just a couple more minutes, two well-timed shots, assuming this questionably-borrowed fighter doesn’t do something he can’t automatically fix…

“Get out of there,” a voice hisses over the com. Not a voice he expects to hear either, and for a half-second he’s distracted.

“Rey? What are you-”

“Get. Out. It’s a suicide run and you-”

“Do you trust me?”

For a few heartbeats, enough silence to get him through a complicated turn maneuver.

“Yeah. I trust you.”

“Then you can yell at me when I get back safe. I know what I’m doing.”

And he does. Or at least he’s damn close.

Sure, one of the shots is just a tiny bit off, but it’s _enough_. This latest attempt, it’s not gonna save the entire galaxy but it’ll buy them a couple weeks of quiet while the First Order figures out what damage even got done to them. Blowing up their main power reserves was risky, sure, but mission accomplished with a low body count on the right side.

For a crazy plan, Poe thinks as he flies back, at least this one went better than usual.

He forgets, in those couple minutes, that he has an almost-girlfriend down on the ground who’s a little less than thrilled with his recent decision-making skills. He remembers just as his feet hit concrete, and he’s not completely sure what he expects but then there’s a blur of person wrapped around him and he’s pretty sure she’s actually _crying_  and-

“Hey. Shhh. Told you it’d work.”

“I knew,” Rey murmurs. “I just didn’t want to lose you.”

He kisses her cheek, returns the embrace, hopes that’s enough to bring her down. “I don’t like the idea of dying either. Not sure if I _can_ , but-”

“Can we _not_  talk about this?”

She nods, and she’s still crying, but he’s back where he belongs and tangled up in someone who feels like a beginning and maybe that’s not enough but at least it’s something. At least it’s something.

“Warn me first,” she murmurs, resting more of her weight on his body.

“Will do.”


	2. start with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - "just breathe, okay??"

It’s gonna be a few days before Poe figures out exactly what happened, but right now the important detail is there’s a panicked girl curled up in the passenger seat of his fighter and _missing a hand._

Second thought, maybe she’s not the only panicked one, but she’s allowed to be. He, on the other hand, is not. Not until they get back on the ground, and _then_  he can freak out like any rational person would in this situation and-

She’s whimpering. Dammit. Couple months he’s known Rey, he’d never describe her as quiet or subtle. Every other time he’s seen her cry, those stolen moments of mutual understanding and the absolute wreckage after the General… every other time he’s seen her cry, she’s been louder than an angry Wookie. Not like this, wounded voiceless creature, not this completely broken.

“Just breathe, okay?” he murmurs, turning his head to make eye contact for a heartbeat. He wishes he could do more, but he’s gotta fly this damn thing and get them someplace safe. After that, he’ll be a good whatever-he-is-to-her.

(They really need to have that conversation. Now that their side has _won_ , there are futures to be planned and he’d like to figure out how much his is gonna overlap with hers. Friendship is great, he’d accept that, but…)

“You’re gonna stay with me, right?”

He’s amazed she can speak a complete sentence, and a little terrified by the way his heart reacts. “Yeah. Long as you want me. Promise.”

Okay, fine, he’s in love with her. But who the hell wouldn’t be?! Months they’ve been like this, months Poe has run through every possible justification and found them all lacking. He has no right to ask _her_ , glorious light and rebirth, to consider the new life he’s got almost planned. He’s more than earned a little quiet, but he doubts she wants the same and that’s a little bit of a problem and-

“Almost there,” he breathes, starting the descent. Never has he been happier about a complicated landing.

As soon as they’re on the ground and everything’s disengaged and locked, he helps her down and shamelessly takes in her condition. Her hand is not just gone but _lost_ , but it’s a clean burn - not bleeding, and will probably respond well to a prosthetic. The rest of her looks like death on legs, and from the way she rests her weight against him, he’s pretty sure she’d sleep for a week if given the chance.

“Don’t wanna go to medical yet,” Rey whispers. “Just wanna rest. I’ll be fine.”

Brave as always, he can’t help thinking. “We can do that.”

It makes sense to take her back to where he’s been sleeping the last couple days - closer than where they put her, he tells himself, still justifying even the tiniest actions. She’ll get through the worst, and he’ll watch over her, and once that passes he’ll drag her down to medical and they’ll figure out what her next steps are, and-

“What now?” she asks, perched on the edge of his mattress.

“What do you mean?”

“What are you going to do now that the war is over?”

Poe is very tempted to point out that “over” isn’t actually that simple, but now is not the time or the place so he doesn’t. “Still figuring that out. Probably go home, take a little time to get used to not almost dying every three days, and I don’t know from there.”

“Could I… could I come with?”

Shock. He’s in shock. That’s the only way this is possibly happening, because there is no sane reason she would-

“You can say no,” she breathes. “If you want to.”

“And why exactly would I do that?” he laughs, forcing himself to remain calm. “Remember that time we talked about all the places you want to see?”

“Yeah.”

“You could start… you could start with me. Still weird I’ve even got a home to go back to, but I never thought I’d miss humid rain so much.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

“It’ll grow on you. I got out as soon as I was old enough to fly on my own, but… been a long time since then. Feels like time for me to go back and start over.”

“And how would your people feel about you bringing home a wounded Force-user?”

He takes a very deep breath. “Bringing home… in what way are you implying here?”

“You’re not as subtle as you think you are,” Rey laughs. “But… in general. As someone who’s important to you.”

“They’ll like you,” he replies. “Whatever you are.”


	3. this part of predictable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - kisses because everything hurts right now including being loved by you but you’re also the only thing that makes it feel better.

She’s overwhelmed, or at least she’s pretty sure that’s the right word to describe it. Emotions are a _lot_ , and Rey isn’t exactly good at them yet but she tries. And then she fails, and it’s miserable, and she drowns further, and it’s a ridiculous cycle that she can’t stop. Doesn’t know how, doesn’t know who to ask for help either.

She deals by hiding. Natural skill and tendency of hers, and in each new location the first thing she does is find a few places almost no one would think to look for her. The last few, she’s had help - she suspects that multiple people have “suggested” that BB-8 keep an eye on her, and while the thought may be a little annoying, she appreciates the company. Turns out that when not being shot at, the little droid is actually pretty quiet, knows when to chirp to distract Rey out of a particularly bad pattern but otherwise just sits there with her and lets her be. If she _has_  to be supervised, she could do worse.

She’s curled up in one of those spots right now, not doing anything destructive beyond a little brooding, when her companion lights up. One of the bigger surprises of the last couple months has been that droids can actually be happy at times, and BB-8, precious little damaged darling that it is, has some serious loyalty programming that Rey doesn’t quite understand. What she does know, having caused it often enough to have it explained to her, is that there are about three and a half people it’s attached to. She herself is one, and apparently another is within range.

A better person, she knows, would turn and look and see which of her people has seen fit to track her down and make sure she’s still alive. She’s heard that’s a concern - no one’s directly said anything to her, but she’s perceptive enough to notice the way most people treat her. Fragile, like she might break and bleed out at any moment, and the funny thing is none of them have any clue what’s really going on in her mind. She’s not strong enough to develop a death wish, not right now, but if they want to label her as such then she’s in no mood to stop them because they’re not _totally_  wrong. Close but not quite.

“At least this time you’re not actually inside a wall,” a familiar voice laughs.

She turns her head, takes in the expected sight. The first couple times, Poe’s concern felt a little too much like outright interference, but she’s gotten to know him better since then and she knows that like everything else about him, it’s genuine. He’s been there and done that and got all the scars to prove it, and whenever he gets stuck on monitor duty he’s at least willing to sit with her until she’s semi-functional again instead of talking at her for hours about things she can’t follow (Finn) or recruiting her help for some project she doesn’t totally understand (Rose). Rey never thought she’d appreciate quiet so much, and yet-

“That was _once_ ,” she reminds. “And I fit fine in there.”

“Yeah. You did. Our mutual friend, on the other hand…”

Valid point - turns out there are a _few_  limits to BB-8′s abilities - but she’s not gonna let it go. “If I’d done anything stupid, it still would’ve known.”

“Is that an actual risk right now?”

Couple months, she reminds herself, couple months and she’s still getting used to the utter _terror_  that is Poe when he’s worried about someone. She practically feels it as he sits down next to her and offers his hand, expecting nothing but a willing participant in everything. Whatever the hell is going on between them, the occasional physical use of each other for distraction and healing, it’s mutually beneficial and it’s working. And so far as she knows, not public knowledge yet, so they’ve got that going for them, and-

“Rey? Talk to me?”

“I’m fine. Just a bad day. Nothing happened. No risk.”

“The drowning feeling again?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit.” He shifts closer to her, wraps his arm around her shoulders. “You don’t have to run off like this. You know that, right?”

“I know that,” she repeats, numb. Strange how wrong she was about physical contact making things better. It’s _nice_ , having someone - multiple someones, really, but mostly this one here - to curl up around. But it doesn’t fix anything, not really. Doesn’t make her feel better after their hands are gone.

“You don’t wanna talk. One of those, huh?”

“Yeah.”

At least he’s learning her patterns. Got that going for him. Got a lot of things, really - she’s still not sure why his face lights up whenever he sees her, no matter how many people are watching them, and he’s not smart enough to see that he could do better. Sure, she seems fascinating enough _now_ , but what about after? What future is there in a girl who knows how to survive but doesn’t know how to live? Not much, she’s pretty sure, not something to put years into and-

“Can you at least say what happened this time?”

“You’re gonna leave me,” she mutters. “Not _now_ , but eventually.”

“Not planning on it.”

“Doesn’t mean you _won’t_.”

“Valid, but… I like you, Rey. In a lot of ways. And I have trouble seeing a future where we’re not _something_  to each other. Maybe this lasts, maybe it doesn’t, I don’t know, but…”

She’s not sure how to do words right now, so she leans in and kisses him instead, sweet sad contact unbroken even when she starts crying. He tries to move away, sensing that this may not be an ideal time, but she reaches up and tangles her fingers in his hair and he stays and for a couple beautiful moments, all is well.

“You make things better,” she murmurs against his skin.

“I’m one person,” he reminds her. “Even I can’t-”

“I know. But you’re here, and you let me _be_ , and that helps.”

He kisses her cheek, wishing he could do more. “Same. I know it sounds bad, but… you don’t expect much.”

“You’re kind. What else matters?”

He lets her have that point. “Still nice to be around someone who doesn’t have a to-do list for me. Think I might be becoming too predictable for my own good.”

“Maybe. But I like this part of predictable.”

She still thinks he’ll leave someday, but dammit, until he does, she’s gonna claim every moment she can.


	4. light burning through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - slow dancing.

It’s too much. It’s too damn much.

The concept of actually caring about another living being was utterly foreign to Rey a couple weeks ago, and she can’t help but wish she still had that innocence. Because thing is, people _die_. Abandonment is one thing, but at least that’s open-ended, at least that still gave her a flicker of hope to cling to. Death, on the other hand… death is permanent, brutal, a lingering ache unexpected and undesired in those who last long enough to feel the aftershocks.

She knows damned well Luke probably didn’t like her, barely tolerated her in what little time she trained with him, but he was still her best shot at learning how to use her abilities. And now he’s gone, and the crashing weight of having to once again figure everything out on her own without any outside guidance is all around her and way too deep for comfort.

Rey stands alone in a room she thinks might be supposed to be some kind of a closet but still bigger than her last concept of _home_  and lets everything crash over and around her. Again, she’s alone. Again, she’s adrift. Again, she-

The door opens and she turns, forcing a half-smile as she processes the change in atmosphere. Over the last couple days, she’s formed a bond with the pilot. They’re both considered useless at the moment, worth keeping around but currently on hold, and turns out boredom and unexpected shared custody of a droid is a decent foundation for a friendship. Or maybe more than that - Rey can’t help but stare sometimes, she sees such beauty in his features, and maybe the heartbeat-skipping feeling is mutual and-

“Bad day?”

“Does the pain ever _stop_?” she breathes. She feels exhausted, like her body has tried to take the pain from her mind and failed, like she might collapse at any second.

“Slowly.” Poe moves to stand opposite her, gently wrapping his arms around her. She’s still weird about touch, but he’s warm and this isn’t _new_  and they shift around each other so easily.

“Bad day for you too?”

“Being trapped in a series of metal boxes isn’t my favorite thing,” he shrugs. “Not half as bad as what you’re going through, but…”

“Still counts.”

They stand in silence for a while, clinging to each other. She may be the more visible wreck, but she’s starting to see that he needs their blossoming situation just as much as she does. Perhaps for different reasons, but-

“Can I distract you?”

She _should_  ask what form he’s considering, _should_  make sure she’s not about to be an accomplice in one of the stir-crazy schemes she’s heard legends about, but she’s desperate enough not to care. “Please.”

He changes the position of his hands on her back and then starts moving, slowly twirling her around to some song in his head. It takes her a few moments to process all of this, but she doesn’t exactly mind. She admires the way he moves, purposeful and fluid, and being brought along feels _nice_ , like the light burning in him might infect her. He is a sunrise and she is a dark desert night and-

“Something wrong?”

She doesn’t even realize she’s crying until he points it out. “No. Keep doing this.”

He does, and he doesn’t seem to mind her head on his shoulder or her tears soaking through his shirt, and it hits her that she is genuinely a little bit in love with this man. There’s nothing in it for him, nothing he couldn’t get elsewhere for less trouble, and yet he’s so kind and good to her. Some people just _are_ , she knows, but she can’t help but daydream a little.

“You learn quickly,” he murmurs. It’s a high compliment, the way he says it, even though she’s barely done anything at all.

“You’re that good,” she counters, and she wants to laugh and that’s a whole other mess of confusion.

“Haven’t had a good partner in years.”

“I’m not-”

He shifts and kisses her cheek and it’s the strangest moment of her damn life so far, mixed sensation of scruff and softness and warmth, and maybe she’s not just a _little_  in love.

“You see things, Rey. You don’t ask questions, you just trust your instincts. And I’m lucky to be here with you and see that.”

“Thank you.” She feels her skin turn an unholy color, stupid rush of feelings in all the wrong un-deal-with-able ways. “You’re too kind to me.”

“You’ve fought monsters and survived and managed to stay a _person_. Not to mention saved all our asses multiple times. I don’t think you realize how amazing you are.”

“Nor do you.”

She turns her head and kisses him properly, chasing a sensation she already fears she’ll get addicted to, and one of his hands moves to tangle in her hair and it’s one of the best moments of her life so far. Little awkward, learning how to collide with another person’s body, but he’s patient and willing and _good_  and-

“Thank you,” she breathes, resting too much of her weight against him.

“Least I could do.”


	5. natural

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - "no one's gonna hurt you, I won't let them".

She screams loud enough to wake up half the base sometimes.

In this aftermath of war, things are a little chaotic. Those without homes to return to have stayed to collect their bearings and figure out how to go forward, and most of the few who _do_  have lives to pick up have stayed too and made themselves useful. But the threat of immediate death no longer hangs over them, and the group acclimation period is one of the better things Rey’s experienced.

Except, y’know, when her subconscious mind decides to play a highlight reel of the horrible things she’s seen and experienced, with a few worst-case-scenario fears thrown in for good measure. Then, it’s kinda annoying to be in close proximity to so many people who care about her.

There’s an unofficial system for these nights - after the past couple months, it’s only natural. Whichever of her close friends hears her first gets the lovely job of checking in on her and talking her down and cleaning up anything that got broken if her control got overwhelmed. Usually, that means Poe because his room is right next to hers and he’s endlessly patient at weird hours and it works and-

“Hey. Shh. It’s okay.”

Her eyes are barely open, and it still feels strange to be okay with someone letting themself into her personal space but in the best way. Been a while since her world was turned completely around, and she’s still adapting, but she knows not to let it show. Knows, as she shifts her body and fully opens her eyes and accidentally stares into a flashlight for a heartbeat, that she is weird enough without the baggage of her tragic childhood.

“Another nightmare?” Poe asks, even though he already knows.

“Yeah. I died again.”

“Okay if I get closer?”

She nods, and he crosses the space and sits down at the far end of her bed and they linger in silence for a while as she calms down.

It hits her that her friend is _very_  pretty, even in the middle of the night with messy hair and shirt half-unbuttoned and looking like this is not his ideal scenario - and yet kind, always, a natural caretaker who doesn’t actually _mind_  getting stuck on jedi-sitting duty. It’s kind of a lot, and Rey is pretty sure she’s got a little bit of a crush but that too is something she’s not sure how to deal with, and-

“No one’s gonna hurt you. I won’t let them. Understand?”

She blinks, not even sure what she’s feeling anymore. “Thank you.”

“Need me to stay?”

“No. I’m fine. And you’re right on the other side of the wall if anything...”

“Yeah.” He stands up, takes two steps closer, and leans down and kisses the tip of her nose in that playful way she’s learned he does with almost _everyone_. “Try to sleep, hun. Rumor is we’re getting hauled out tomorrow for another medal ceremony, and it’ll be a lot easier if you’re lucid for it.”

“Thank you.”

He leaves, and she watches, and turns out she doesn’t sleep so well that night after all. But not because of nightmares.

No, the rest of that night, Rey’s got much better things on her mind.


	6. wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - "do it for me if you can't do it for yourself".

There are details that may never be known, but the established facts are these - Rey was found some distance from her intended mission site, unconscious and alone, twenty-four hours after her expected check-in. And three days later, she’s hooked up to every monitoring device the resistance has and her status remains unchanged.

That, in turn, means Poe has been camped out in medical for three _very_  long days.

According to the monitors, Rey’s brain is slowly repairing itself. Whatever happened to her - there are still no answers on that front, not even any particularly probable guesses - did not and likely will not kill her. But on the flip side, it will be weeks at _best_  before she returns to the world around her, and likely much longer than that before she’s fully back on her feet.

He’ll wait every damn moment until that happens.

There was no need to justify himself when he decided his intentions. Out of those closest to the girl, he’s the only one on the same planet, and it’s established fact that someone coming out of a coma ought to see a familiar face first and not a grouchy medical droid. No one bothered to assume more than that, and he’s let it go because it’s easier this way and-

Fuck, she picked a hell of a time to do this.

When she got back from that mission, once everything was settled, he was going to ask her out. He had a _plan_ , and a pretty good one too by his minimal standards. Took months to figure it all out. Rushing into _anything_  with a woman like that is just asking for trouble, and Poe’s normal impulsive nature has been put on hold until it’s all over. Until he gets his chance. Until...

“Wake up. Please.”

He knows she probably can’t hear him. Wherever her mind is, it’s not on the same plane of existence as the rest of them. But he will be there when she wakes up, and she _will_  wake up, and hopefully she’ll understand his determination.

He’d thought there were flickers of potential there. Nothing solid, nothing that made him absolutely certain his dreams will become reality, but there was a warmth. Rey keeps her emotions guarded, in a way that makes perfect sense given her background, but he knows for fact that she values their friendship. She said as much once, that one weird night on that desert planet they temporarily got stuck on - there was a communications failure and they were stuck with nothing but each other for company for thirty-six hours while they waited for further instructions - right before curling up around him even though she had her own blankets and sleeping mat. Perhaps that was a good sign. Perhaps he should’ve had the conversation about feelings _then_ , when he woke up with her hair in his mouth and her body just an inch away from dangerous proximity.

But he didn’t, and now time is on hold, and he waits.

“Come back to me, Rey. Please. Do it for me if you can’t do it for yourself.”


	7. personal space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - keeping the other person warm.

Good news is the Resistance has found a safe planet to rebuild on. Bad news - at least as interpreted by most individuals involved - is it’s cold and the current living conditions are cramped. As if being stranded and stir-crazy wasn’t misery enough.

Rey, however, is unbothered by all of this. She’s used to scorching heat, and while she’s not completely sure how snow _works_ , she thinks it’s a definite improvement over her past. And after a week of being crammed in a small compartment with too many people, she decides personal space wins over everything else and decides to set up a tent outside. Safe within view of the guard tower, and near enough to the building projects, but still…

Truth be told, she’s pretty sure this kind of behavior is expected of her. She’s a mystery and a pariah and a savior and a dozen other things that make people wary of her, and her decision to camp out is apparently suitably eccentric enough that no one directly questions it. Not that she gives them much of a chance - the only permission she asks is whether anyone’s got a planned purpose for a particular length of tarp - but she’s still pleasantly surprised when no one gets in her way or asks more than they need to know. She’s doing it safely enough and completely on her own, staying perfectly out of the way as is expected of her, and everything’s fine.

Until it’s the middle of the night and she wakes up wet and freezing. More wonderful feelings she didn’t know existed, she can’t help thinking, and she’s not even that bothered except-

There’s a light approaching her. Based on distance and position, a solitary lantern. No threat, she knows that much, but the whole point of her little exercise in resilience out here was that she wanted to be left _alone_  and-

Closer still, a body - of course it’s human, she reminds herself, no one else would be stupid enough to brave the snowstorm around her - and she hears muttered cursing and she laughs. Whomever got the short straw of making sure she was still alive, they definitely hate their life right now and it’s almost amusing and okay, she can deal with this intrusion.

And oh, she can deal just fine when the flap of her makeshift tent lifts up and - unsurprisingly, again, this night seems to be following some kind of script or checklist - the designated victim is one of her favorite people. Even beneath a massive ill-fitting coat, Poe’s movements are easy enough to recognize, as is the energy he gives off. They don’t know each other _well_  yet, barely a friendship and most of that because apparently they share custody of a droid now, but Rey would be quite alright spending the rest of her life discovering the man’s complications in whatever form that happens to take and-

Hat and visor are thrown aside and he shakes his head, taking in the situation and the girl in the middle of it. “Well this is bad even by my standards.”

“What do you mean?” Rey asks, playfully feigning innocence. She _knows_  where she screwed up, knows how she’s gonna make the next version of her setup so much better, but she wonders what an outsider will see.

“Could’ve at least used something weatherproof. Or waterproof. Or whatever this thing isn’t.”

“I’ll fix it in the morning.”

“You’d better. I have orders to bring you right back inside, but-”

“I’m not going back in there. I’ll suffocate.”

“I know. And in case you somehow haven’t noticed... it’s impossible to see out there. So guess I’m stuck too until this blows over.”

Rey motions to the space beside her. Not much but _enough_ , if they’re careful about it, and-

“Your coat could fit both of us,” she murmurs, wondering if that’s too forward.

It isn’t, she figures as he crosses the small space and sits down next to her. “Good idea. Might be a little awkward, but-”

“You don’t scare me.”

“That’s not quite what I meant.”

She lets it go. And sure enough, she’s right.

She’s never been this close to another human being before, at least that she remembers. It takes some maneuvering to align their bodies for maximum warmth, but they’re about the same height and Poe is cautious and honestly, it feels amazing. Like, she doesn’t have words for it beyond that, but she is overwhelmed by touch and smell and gentleness and-

“You okay?” he asks once they’re as settled as they’re likely to get.

“You’re warm. I like warm.”

“Try to sleep. I’ll help you redo this tomorrow if you want, I don’t really have anything else to do and-”

“What’s in it for you?”

“Little bit of space. Same thing you wanted, I figure. It’ll be fine in a couple weeks, but until then...”

“We could make it bigger. Not that much more effort to fit two bodies instead of one.”

“I’m not asking, but if you’re offering...”

“I don’t think I like being completely alone either. Is that enough of an answer?”

She rests her head on his shoulder, closes her eyes, and falls fast asleep.

(In the morning, she kisses his cheek and decides that she would like all of this on a regular basis.)


	8. just fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - "I'm sick".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I somehow didn't actually use the prompt line in the ficlet here, but... it still works, I think.

Frankly, she’s lucky she’s cute.

Poe is usually patient with the people he loves, but damned if this hasn’t been the longest forty-eight hours of his life and all because Rey - his tiny-badass girlfriend, light of his life and source of his permanent headache - did not wear appropriate layers on some backwater ice moon and managed to get the flu.

And not, like, weird slow-painful-death flu either. Oh no. The most mundane case of the temporarily-out-of-commission absolutely-will-not-kill-an-otherwise-healthy-twentysomething-humanoid-female kind. But you wouldn’t know it from looking at her.

He gets it, he really does. Rey isn’t used to having anyone to take care of her, and now all of a sudden she’s got _options_  and it’s easy to see why she’s chosen to enjoy them. Plus that, this isn’t the kind of sick one gets on a desert planet, so she probably has no idea what’s going on even _after_  the medical droid explained it three separate times. It does, on some level, make total sense that she’s acting like she’s dying.

It’s just, y’know, a _lot_. And whimpery noises while he’s attempting to figure out how to re-rig some of the electrical on the latest fighter he hasn’t managed to crash yet - aka staring at a bunch of diagrams and wondering what the person who designed this thing was smoking at the time, because this level of insanity could not have been created by someone sober - are a distraction he doesn’t need.

“If I die, please remember that I loved you and I didn’t mean to ruin your life.”

“You didn’t ruin my life, sweetheart,” he replies from the other side of their room. This base is the first time they’re officially living together, and Rey is somehow taking up way more of the bed than a person her size ought to be able to. He’s gonna fall asleep on this uncomfortable couch tonight, he is calling it now.

“I’m annoying.”

She’s not wrong, but now is not the time for that convo. “And I love you anyways.”

“I’m gonna die.”

“No you’re not.”

“Prove it.”

Ah, screw it, some of this diagram is in a dialect even the universal translator function of his tablet can’t unfuck. Might as well take a break and try to calm down his girl.

He picks up the scanner on their bedside table and runs it over her forehead. “Fever’s gone down half a point since three hours ago, babe. You’ll be on your feet in no time.”

“Nah. Gonna die.”

“No you’re not. Remember that stuff I promised you last time? That trip we’re gonna take, back home? You can’t die until _after_  we do that. Understand?”

She whimpers, which he interprets as a yes. “Cuddle with me?”

“I need to finish this thing. Once I get through the file, then we can cuddle. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Poe kisses her forehead before returning to his previous spot on the couch. It’ll be okay, he’s pretty sure. The worst part of this bullshit is over. Now, he just needs to wait for her to sleep it off and then they’ll be just fine.


	9. little favors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - "I'm a runaway bride/groom and you're my getaway driver".

It is the kind of day where Poe does not question things, which is to say that he’s already done with everything _before_  a casual acquaintance cannonballs into the passenger seat of his truck wearing way more tulle than should ever be on a human body her size.

He knows Rey in passing, which is to say they have enough mutual friends that they’ve talked a few times at parties and they follow each other on instagram because of that one convo about his dog but they’re not actually friends. They are unlikely to ever change this (or at least that was the case until thirty seconds ago), but it’s reached a point where he does look for her at events and does feel his heart do a little flutter if he finds her. She doesn’t go to things anymore, hasn’t since she started dating a creature who Finn - their primary mutual friend, who has probably thought about setting them up at least four separate times - refers to as The Asshole. Poe intentionally does not know more about the situation than that.

So, cut back to pretty girl in wedding dress somehow ending up in his vehicle as he attempts to fiddle with the radio in the parking lot of a Walmart of all godforsaken places.

“I know you don’t like me, but I need a huge favor.”

Well that’s a creative interpretation, Poe is tempted to say. Has not been thrilled with since she practically fell off the face of the earth two years ago, _yes_ , but dislikes? Is that even possible?

He decides to just go with it. He knows her better by reputation than personal experience, and both are saying that it’s a lot easier to remain calm and get the scary details later.

“Tell me what direction you want me to go and you can explain once we’re moving.”

“North. Please.”

He glances to see if she’s buckled in - she may or may not be, he can’t tell with all those damn layers of fabric, but those should theoretically protect her if something goes wrong - and shifts gears. His battle with the radio, which he’s pretty sure is beyond salvation at this point, can wait until after this disaster is over. (If it’s ever over.) Calm, he repeats. He needs to be _calm_.

“So what happened?” he asks once they’re on the interstate ten minutes later.

“You know that moment when you realize you’re on the edge of making the shittiest decision of your life and there will be no going back if you do the thing?”

He shrugs - he’s managed to avoid anything that apocalyptic, and the closest he’s gotten was when the lady at the animal shelter asked if he was _sure_  he wanted a hyperactive corgi and that turned out awesome, but he thinks he gets the concept enough.

“I had that moment ten minutes before I was supposed to walk down the aisle. And I decided that running was easier than actually telling anyone.”

“This does not explain how you ended up...”

“That part was an accident.” Rey peeks up from the tulle, which is somehow halfway covering her face even though most of it is supposed to be on her lower body, and gives him a sympathetic look. “If I hadn’t found somebody’s car that looked familiar, I would’ve picked a random, but... you have distinctive taste in bumper stickers.”

“How far did you run in that thing?”

“Like two miles. I asked Rose to cause a distraction. They probably still don’t know what I did.”

(Poe knows Rose a little better, and he can only imagine what her idea of an appropriate distraction might be. Coinflip odds the church is on fire or soon will be.)

“And where are we going?”

“Somewhere nobody would look for me? I’ll deal with it, but... I need a couple days to breathe. And I realize you have a life and I’m probably putting it on hold and-”

“Rey. This is a legitimate disaster, and I can claim to be sick for three days if that-”

“Thank you. I owe you, like, a kidney for this.”

“No. Don’t. This is not the weirdest thing anyone’s asked me to do, if you can believe it.”

“Your life actually gets weirder than unexpectedly driving a getaway car for a friend of a friend? _How_?!?”

"There was that one time Rose’s sister... never mind, you do not need to know that story. I live an interesting life, is what I’m trying to say.”

He knows that sounds cocky as hell, but it makes her smile and relax as much as her circumstances allow and he supposes that makes it okay.

“You have any out-of-town relatives who could help us out?” she asks.

“My dad’s been bugging me to come for a visit for a while. And he’s four hours north of here and lives on the lake. That far and remote enough for you?”

“Depends on how you explain... well, _me_.”

“Not the weirdest thing I’ve ever done, sweetheart. And I’ve rescued people in the past. Might require you to do most of the talking, but we can pull it off. He trusts my taste in people, it’ll be okay.”

“Cool. I... I’ll pay you back for this. Once I get my life in order.”

“No pressure. Shit happens. And like I said, I’ve been thinking about doing this trip anyways.”

In truth, Poe isn’t entirely sure how he’s gonna explain this one, but he’ll get there when he gets there. First, he’s got four hours of driving with a slightly panicked girl riding shotgun.

“Um... what are you gonna do about your dog?”

“Dunno if you can turn your head that far, but Bee’s in the backseat sound asleep. He’s along for the ride too.”

Four hours, and then one very awkward convo with his dad about the exact circumstances under which he brings home a girl in a white dress. It’ll be _fine_.


	10. whatever you want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - talking about having kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've missed these babes.

After, they talk. Before, they are too busy with deep wanting kisses and wandering hands; during, too lost in each other’s bodies. But after, as they recover on the mattress, they talk.

Rey has come to enjoy this part of the routine best. It's still strange to her that it _is_ a routine, these physical encounters with someone she cares deeply about. She's not sure if she loves him yet, not sure if she is ever going to be comfortable with that word and all it entails, but most days she thinks she could. Poe is kind and respectful and so nice to look at, and most importantly he sees something in her that he… not _wants_ , exactly, but is fascinated by. Something he, more comfortable with his emotions than she'll ever be, has no problem loving.

The war is over on paper, which means they're still busy as hell but without the constant feeling of imminent doom. They teamed up before she ended up in his bed, a fact she has to remind people of much more frequently than she wants, and she doubts they'll ever separate. It is a strange feeling, realizing that she cannot envision a future for herself without one particular person, and-

"Rey? You okay, sunshine?"

He's worried. Of course he's worried, that's his default setting whenever she gets weird and oh she gets weird a _lot_. There's a gentleness in his concern, but sometimes she feels smothered by the weight of-

"What happens to us after all of this?"

"After… hmm." He shifts position on the bed so he can hold her, moving her body just the slightest bit so she's halfway on top of him. "I think I can do a couple more years of this, maybe, and then claim a hero's retirement. I have a home waiting for me, I guess - haven't been back for more than a couple days in almost twenty years, but it's there. And I think… you could tag along, if you wanted. There'd be space."

"I like that idea."

"Maybe have kids after a little while, if you want them."

"If?" she repeats. She's never really considered the idea, but now that her partner mentions it…

"You're the one who'd get to incubate the little darlings for nine months, so I think you should get to make that call, sweetheart. I want them, but I don't have the same… investment in it, I guess. Something goes wrong, I won't be in the center of it. You will."

She tilts her head and presses her lips to his cheek, not really sure what to say. "Do I have to decide right now?"

"Not at all, sweetheart. 'Not yet' is an option too. Don't… don't take this as pressure or anything, but… you have fifteen years to figure that out, and if you take all of them… there is nothing wrong with that, Rey. I want whatever you want."

"I think I'll want them. But not yet."

"Good." Poe laughs, that way he does where there is nothing else in the world but him and whatever he's amused by. "I'm not ready yet either. But the option is yours, Rey. I'll go with whatever."

"Thank you."

He shifts their bodies again, this time reaching for blankets. "Whatever you want, sunshine. Just let me know."

Yeah, she thinks as she closes her eyes. She could definitely love him.


End file.
